Class Description

The course provides students with an advanced traditional skill of carving marble or other stones and creating figurative or abstracts forms. Students explore carving/construction using marble or other stones, carving by hand, or carving with pneumatic machines. Studio practice, investigation of historical/contemporary methods/concepts, and development of personal sculptural imaginary are explored. For students that are interested; use of the point machine will also be introduced, which is for making accurate one-to-one copies of existing sculptures and to reproduce models made of plaster or other hard material.

The course will focus on Italian and European techniques; the special ways in which sculptors in Italy have developed over centuries of carving marble and understanding the characteristics of different materials. A number of techniques, and attention to different expressions of old and contemporary sculptors will also will be discussed.

It is mandatory to have a maquette before you start carving the stone/wood. Students in this class create work without using models or still life.

About the Instructor

Dionisio Cimarelli boasts wide international experience and is one of the most well-known Italian sculptors who exercised, for about nine years, his artistic activity in China. Born in Jesi at Ancona Province in Italy, he holds a Diploma in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara. He also studied at the Repin Institute of Arts (St. Petersburg, Russia) and at the Academy of Fine Arts (Prague, Czech Republic). He participated in restoration projects at the Louvre Museum (Paris), the Royal Church (Copenhagen), the Royal Palace in (Stockholm), and at Strasbourg Cathedral (Strasbourg).

He has received important scholarships from such organizations as the National Sculpture Society and the New York Art Academy (both in New York City). He has been invited as guest professor at the Wimbledon School of Art (London) and at King Saud University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). He has also participated in several conferences at prestigious academic international institutions. He held a solo exhibition at Berlin Philharmonic (Berlin) at the invitation of world-renowned Maestro Claudio Abbado.

While in China, Mr. Cimarelli exhibited in the International Art Biennale (Beijing), the International Sculpture Biennial (Shanghai), and at MOCA Museum (Shanghai). From 2007 to 2012, he was the art supervisor of the important architecture project ZhongKai SheShan Luxury Villas of Shanghai. From 2010 to 2012, he was a member of the editing committee of China Sculpture Magazine. For the Shanghai World EXPO 2010, he was commissioned to create the sculpture of Matteo Ricci for the Italy Pavilion. This sculpture is currently in the collection of the Regione Marche Government (Ancona, Italy). In 2011, he participated in the Venice Biennale. In 2013, he moved to Monterey, California for a year to act as creative director of a large sculpture studio. In 2014, the U.S. granted him permanent residence via the EB-1 Extraordinary Ability. Currently he is also teaching sculpture at the New York Academy of Art, as part of their MFA curriculum.

“Very structured. Very professional. High level of instruction. I learn tremendously from Dionisio.
How could the workshop be improved? Nothing to improve!”—Maxwell Singer

“This was my first workshop working in clay. The Strength of this workshop was Dionisio himself. I was very fond of his approach to teaching sculpting. He is extremely knowledgeable and can articulate ideas in a way that are relatable which is conducive for fully comprehending the information. He really cultivated the way I see the forms in the portrait which in turn advanced my comprehension of what is before me.”—Jules Arthur

“Dionisio clearly loves sculpture and teaching students. He passes on his love of the artistry without patronizing or over-instructing his students. His style was absolutely perfect for me – inspiring more than telling me exactly what to do. How could the workshop be improved? It was really perfect.”
—Diane Oshin

“This was an amazing workshop! The instructor thoroughly explained how to accom- plish certain techniques verbally and by clear demonstration. His passion and energy made me much more enthusiastic and I could clearly see how that affected my work. There was a very logical and practical approach to executing the proportions of the model which was very effective! I was so impressed with how much I improved and so quickly. I’m happy to have left with a new attitude and skills I didn’t have before. How could the workshop be improved? I think there’s no need for improvement.”—Angela Skyllas

Mr. Cimarelli was interview at the League for ITALICS by Lucia Grillo CUNYtv